1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to over-the-door hangers and, more particularly, to an over-the-door hanger that has an adjustable overall length in order to hang objects at various heights.
2. Description of Related Art
Over-the-door hangers have been used for a number of years. The basic structure generally includes a metal or piece of molded plastic that can be hung over the top of a door and extends down the face of the door, terminating in a hook used to support the item being hung. The advantage of these hangers is that items such as wreaths can be hung without the need to permanently attach anything to the door. This is especially useful for hanging seasonal items such as a wreath that is only hung on the door for a relatively short period of time during the year.
However, these hangers are of fixed length. Depending on what is being hung on the door and the height desired a user needs either to have a number of hangers of different lengths or to know the exact length desired before purchasing the hanger. In addition, with hangers only made in certain lengths, there is no way to conveniently hang an object at an intermediate height.
More recently over-the-door hangers have been made that have an adjustable length to hang an object at a desired height. One such hanger has two vertical pieces, one having a single, rearward-facing projection that engages a set of forwardly facing detent structures on the other piece. Adjusting the length of the hanger requires manually bending the two pieces apart so as to disengage the rearward facing projection from the recess in the other vertical piece and then slide the vertical pieces at the same time.
It is often desirable to adjust the length of the hanger once it has already been placed upon the door. Therefore, there is a need for an adjustable length over-the-door hanger that can be easily adjusted while in position on the door.
The subject invention comprises an adjustable over-the-door hanger. The subject hanger allows the user to adjust the overall length of the hanger so that the lower hook upon which an object is hung can be placed at a desired height for hanging the object. The subject hanger is made up of two vertical supports that slide along each other to either shorten or lengthen the overall length of the hanger. A door hook on the top of the upper vertical support hooks over the top of the door and secures the hanger to the front of the door. There is also a lower hook at the bottom of the lower vertical support upon which the desired object can be hung. At the bottom of the upper vertical support, an enclosure wraps around the lower vertical support and prevents it from moving out of slidable contact with the upper vertical support. Along one of the sides of the upper vertical support there is an engagement track and along the opposite side there is a support track. At the top of the lower vertical support there are two finger projections. An engagement finger selectively engages the engagement track on the upper vertical support to prevent the lower vertical support from sliding downwardly relative to the upper vertical support. On the opposite side from the engagement finger is a support finger that has a support groove through which the support track runs. The support finger keeps the upper vertical support in slidable contact with the lower vertical support and prevents it from moving away from the engagement finger. Because the engagement finger and engagement track are located on the side of the vertical supports, it can easily be disengaged for adjustment while the adjustable over-the-door hanger is in place on a door.
In a preferred embodiment, the engagement track is made up of teeth and the engagement finger contains corresponding teeth that are able to seat in between the track teeth and prevent the lower vertical support from sliding further down. The teeth provide discrete adjustment points and allow the hanger to support a greater amount of weight than if the engagement track was a flat surface frictionally engaged by the engagement finger. The engagement finger is preferably resiliently biased to engage the engagement track. This allows the hanger to be in a locked configuration at all times that it is not being adjusted. The support track is preferably thinner than the upper vertical support allowing the support track to fit in the support groove of the support finger. The upper vertical support so that the upper vertical support will preferably lie flat against the front surface of the door.